Neighbours say they have spotted another big cat in a garden.

The large black animal was seen by Sharon Virgo, 46, of Whitehawk Close, Whitehawk, Brighton, in her garden at about 1.30am on Friday.

She said: "It just really scared me because it was sat at the top of my garden just staring at us.

"My little Jack Russell was barking like mad at it through my patio windows.

"It had bright green eyes and was black with really long whiskers.

"It was far too big to be a fox or a dog."

Dawn Greenaway, 43, a neighbour who was visiting, said: "I felt a bit shook up afterwards, I have never seen anything that big. My eyes virtually popped out of my head.

"The garden lights were on so we could see it clearly.

"In the morning I went into the garden and there is claw marks and scratches on a piece of wood next to the fence."

The sighting follows many reports of sightings of the so-called Beast of Bevendean just a few miles away.